There is rightful elucidation of multiple facets of Prime Minister Modi’s personal and governance style, and a significant amount has been said about how he has gone about systematically transforming the country. Books, articles, speeches, policy analyses, and countless commentaries have examined his leadership from every conceivable angle.
I wanted to add my own two bits to this vast volume of work, not by looking at it from an analytical point of view, but rather through a personal lens.
I met Prime Minister Modi (then Chief Minister Modi) in 2013, when I left my corporate career to pivot to public service. I remember being ushered into his room. It was a room that seemed almost dark, and in that quiet space, CM Modi was working intently. There was no coterie of attendants, no flurry of activity, no multitudes of issues being processed in parallel. There was just pure focus.
That image has stayed with me.
Over the years, having worked in the Government of India, I have had the privilege of seeing and hearing about numerous meetings chaired by the Prime Minister. One perception that quickly became evident to me is that many people view him as intensely target-driven, a leader singularly focused on numbers, outcomes, milestones, and the relentless pursuit of transformational change.
There is truth in that perception, but I believe there is a more nuanced reality.
Drawing from my corporate career, a typical review meeting tends to focus on a straightforward question: What was the target, and what was achieved against it? If the achievement exceeds the target, appreciation follows. If it falls short, explanations are sought and shortcomings examined.
Prime Minister Modi’s approach, in my experience, is different.
What struck me during my earliest interactions and observations was that he seemed less interested in whether a target was achieved and more interested in understanding the thinking behind the target itself.
Why was the target set at that particular level?
What assumptions informed it?
What constraints did the team believe existed?
And now that actual results are available, which of those assumptions have proven right and which have proven wrong?
The conversation, therefore, is not merely about performance. It is about thought process.
When a team exceeds expectations, the question is not simply, “Well done.” It is often, “Why did you think this was the limit?” When a team underperforms, the inquiry is not immediately about accountability. It is about understanding whether hidden constraints, flawed assumptions, or limited ambition shaped the original objective.
In that sense, the review process becomes less about numbers and more about human development.
The Prime Minister appears deeply interested in elevating the quality of thinking. He pushes people to examine the mental models through which they view challenges. He encourages teams to question self-imposed limitations. He seeks to understand whether individuals are underachieving because they have unconsciously accepted constraints that no longer exist, or whether they are succeeding because they have challenged conventional assumptions.
This distinction may appear subtle, but it is profound.
Targets matter. Outcomes matter. Results matter.
But the larger objective seems to be the development of people capable of thinking at a higher level, solving bigger problems, and continuously expanding the boundaries of what they believe is possible.
Twelve years into the Modi government, much will continue to be written about economic reforms, infrastructure creation, digital transformation, foreign policy, welfare delivery, manufacturing, and governance. Those debates will rightly continue.
My own enduring takeaway is simpler.
The most valuable lesson I have observed is not merely how to drive performance. It is how to build people who can drive performance.
There is much to learn from Prime Minister Modi about running a country. There is equally much to learn about running an organization. And perhaps most importantly, there is much to learn about running oneself.
